VZCZCXRO2931
RR RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTA #2303/01 1790954
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 280954Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY ALMATY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5965
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1914

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ALMATY 002303 
 
SIPDIS 
 
TASHKENT FOR EPUTNAM 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON SENV ENRG EPET KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: FISH, SEALS DYING IN CASPIAN 
 
 
¶1. Summary: In the past several months, thousands of dead 
sturgeon and seals have washed up on the Kazakhstani shore 
of the Caspian Sea.  Initial indications are that the deaths 
were likely linked to energy development activities.  The 
associated ecological and economic damage has prompted a 
flurry of Kazakhstani interest in protecting Caspian marine 
wildlife stocks by, among other things, securing abandoned 
oil wells in and around the sea.  The investigation to 
determine the exact cause of death of these animals is 
ongoing.  End summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Dead Seals and Sturgeon Wash Up on Caspian Shore 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶2. While flying over the Severnoye Buzachy peninsula on 
April 29, regional government officials in western 
Kazakhstan spotted a large number of dead sturgeon and seals 
near the Kalamkas oil field.  All told, about 800 sturgeon 
and 72 seal carcasses had washed ashore.  While the dead 
animals were found in the vicinity of the Kalamkas oil 
field, none were seen on the territory of the oil field 
itself. 
 
¶3. The carcasses were destroyed on the spot, preventing a 
full analysis of how the animals had died.  Experts 
initially suggested that the cause of death might be 
disease, natural causes (the fish could have frozen under 
the ice), poachers' nets, exploratory drilling, or hydrogen 
sulphide.  However, increasing numbers of sturgeon and seals 
began to wash up on the shore.  By mid-May, the number of 
dead sturgeon and seals had reached 4000 and 600, 
respectively. 
 
---------------------------- 
Abandoned Oil Wells a Threat 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4. Also in mid-May, ecologists discovered an oil spill 10 km 
long and 2 km wide around an abandoned oil well at the 
Pribrezhnoye oil field.  They noted that this spill could 
have poisoned the surrounding water and resulted in the 
deaths of those animals that had washed up on shore. 
AtyrayMunaiGasGeologia was sent to clean up the accident, 
and on May 23 reported that it had sealed the well with a 
temporary plug. 
 
¶5. While this particular incident has been temporarily 
resolved, the risk to Caspian marine wildlife remains high. 
According to the Chief of the Atyrau Territorial Board for 
Environmental Protection, Marat Abdrahman, there are 1500 
sealed oil wells in the Kazakhstani part of the Caspian Sea. 
These wells, which include 140-150 underwater wells, were 
sealed after prospectors determined that the sites lacked 
sufficient economic potential.  The method used to seal 
them, however, was not designed for long-term underwater 
use, and they now pose an ecological threat. 
 
------------ 
GOK Response 
------------ 
 
¶6. With economic damages associated with the loss of marine 
wildlife reaching upwards of 200 million tenge ($1.7 
million) the GOK enacted new measures to discover and 
counteract the causes behind the ecological damage. 
Biological samples were sent to a laboratory for analysis. 
Additionally, a special commission headed by the regional 
Akim (governor) was set up and a team of experts was sent to 
the disaster site.  Kazakhstan invited Russian scientists to 
participate in the team.  The government also decided to 
initiate criminal proceedings under Article 289 of the 
Criminal Code of the RK "Violation of Rules of Wild Life 
Protection." 
 
¶7. The GOK already has taken certain measures to prevent 
such accidents.  Since 2004, the GOK has allocated funds to 
properly attend to abandoned wells.  However, it is apparent 
that these measures are not sufficient to address the 
problem.  Shalbay Kulmakhanov, the Minister for Emergency 
Situations, has noted that there is lack of skilled 
personnel in the republic to carry out the necessary work. 
As a result, last year Kazakhstan managed to find and plug 
only two abandoned oil wells.  The Minister proposes to set 
up an Emergency Response Team to eliminate accidents in the 
Caspian Sea.  His plan would require 5.4 billion tenge ($46 
million). 
 
¶8. Additional proposals have come from other Kazakhstani 
officials.  At an international conference on "Ecological 
 
ALMATY 00002303  002 OF 002 
 
 
and Economic Problems Regarding Caspian Shelf Development," 
Gulmira Ismaiylova, an official in Kazakhstan's Ministry of 
Education and Science, called for the creation of a rapid 
response system for oil spills in the Caspian Sea.  She 
proposed that the system be placed under the authority of 
the Ministry of Emergency Situations. 
 
¶9. The Minister of Environment, Nurlan Iskakov, has stated 
that he believes it is necessary to toughen requirements for 
users of natural resources.  At the May 17 UNESCO regional 
conference on renewable energy, he said that in the future, 
users of natural resources would only get licenses if they 
were able to increase their operational efficiency by 
avoiding gas flaring.  Currently, companies are only using 
about 15% of the associated gas, with the rest being flared 
or reinjected.  The Minister also spoke in favor of 
prohibiting the disposal of waste on the sea floor. 
 
¶10. Oleg Egorov, a senior research assistant in the 
Institute of Economy, a division of the Ministry of 
Education and Science, opined that it is necessary to sign a 
convention on the Caspian Sea.  However, he believed that 
differences among littoral states on how to share the sea 
floor and surface area would make an agreement unlikely. 
 
------------------- 
Sturgeon Threatened 
------------------- 
 
¶11. At a time when the United Nations is working to save the 
sturgeon population in the Caspian sea (having recently 
extended the export ban on caviar from Central Asian 
states), the sturgeon population is dwindling.  Considering 
the fact that Central Asian states export 95% of black 
caviar to the world market, if such ecological damage in the 
Caspian continues, the impact will be severe.  The catch of 
sturgeon in the Caspian is already at historic lows. 
According to the RBK news agency, intensive oil development 
and poaching has decreased the annual catch of sturgeon in 
the Ural-Caspian basin by 95% in the past thirty years. 
 
ORDWAY